It is widely recognized that electricity must be generated to match the instantaneous load and cannot be manufactured and stored during slack periods to satisfy peak demands. Accordingly, a power source must have the capacity to provide the instantaneous peak load required. In situations were the peak load exists for a relatively small percentage of the time, it means that the power source must have the capacity to supply the peak load required, but during off peak time, the power supply operates at less than its capacity. Examples include: the automobile battery which must be able to provide the cranking energy to start an automobile, but which at other times provides relatively little energy; the power supply which must provide the high currents for arc welding; and the relatively large currents required by many machines during small portions of their cycles of operations. Various techniques have been employed to minimize load peaks. One of the more obvious techniques is to schedule the connection of loads so that major consumers of electricity are not simultaneously demanding their respective maximum requirements.
Devices which are intermittently actuated may require substantial instantaneous power while the average power used over a extended period of time is relatively small. A typical example includes alarm lamps, bells or horns which are intermittently actuated for a second or so every few seconds.
The present invention teaches a means for extracting energy from a power source at a relatively low rate for a relatively extended period of time and storing the same in a capacitor. Subsequently, the stored energy is discharged in the load in a relatively brief time interval. This concept is not broadly new and has been used, for many years, in circuits for firing photoflash lamps. Other applications of the general principle will readily occur to those familiar with the applicable arts.